Both teams are heading towards their sixth meeting in the last 20 months, with Nepal gaining a 3-2 edge over the African side. But in a tournament that determines the fate of all six participating teams, beating Uganda in itself is a tough assignment. Uganda have so far defeated Nepal in the opening stages of the two editions of Division 3.  

Uganda had defeated Nepal by six wickets in the Division 3 in May, 2013 and by 20 runs in October last year. Nepal, however, had bounced back on both occasions to beat Uganda to claim the titles. The other victory for Nepal came during the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand in January last year.

Nepal skipper Paras Khadka had said his team must play to its potential to come out with flying colours. He reiterated the same on Friday. “It will be the first match and we want to start on a positive note. We need to stick to our basics and believe in our strength and play to our potential,” Khadka told the ICC.  “It is important to get a strong start as we have seen in previous World Cricket League tournaments; every team must be prepared well, so we cannot take any game or any team lightly,” he added.

Nepal will meet tournament favourites the Netherlands in their second game on Sunday and winning against Uganda will be the key in boosting their confidence. While Nepal prepared for the Division 2 playing three matches against the local clubs in South Africa, Uganda have come into the tournament playing five 50-over matches against Zimbabwe’s top club Takashinga in Kampala. Uganda captain Frank Nsubuga is looking forward for an exciting encounter against Nepal.

“I think it is going to be a tough game as both teams are well balanced. My boys are very confident; we have played Nepal many times and we want to use that experience to perform well tomorrow (Saturday),” said Nsubuga.

In the seaming tracks of Namibia that helps fast bowlers, Nepali camp will be relying heavily on paceman Sompal Kami and Karan KC, who has been tipped to make his debut following his fine performance in the three warm-up games in South Africa. KC had taken nine wickets from three matches.

With the middle order looking strong as usual, the onus will be on the opening combination of Subash Khakurel and Naresh Budhayer which has not yielded much after the two were brought in as a new pair through the Division 3 tournament in Malaysia last year. Nepal need to get the better of Uganda’s spin trio of Nsubuga, Davis Arinaitwe and Lawrence Sematimba along with their key allrounder Roger Mukasa.

Nsubuga and Arinaitwe have been the major tormentors for Nepal in the past, while Mukasa had performed with both bat and ball walking away with man-of-the-series trophy in the previous edition of Division 3. Coach Pubudu Dassanayake shrugged of any threat from his opponents

adding: “The only thing we need to do is play to our potential. The team is ready like never before and everyone is hungry to perform.”